Something's Up in the Potter House
by Montley
Summary: Something fishy is going on...


Something's Up in the Potter House

By Montley

Every case starts out the same.

A well thought out lie after another. But it is always the only thing that I have to go on. And it makes me sick.

There she was, squirming in her seat, her legs crossed. Her hands were in her flaming red hair, constantly braiding and unbraiding one lone strand.

"Why did you come to my office, Lily?" I asked, my eyes squinted as they pierced through the girl's brown eyes.

"It's gone," she said as her legs began to swing back and forth.

"What's gone?"

"You know what!" she snapped in her high pitched voice.

I nodded in confirmation; I always knew. "Any leads?"

"James, he's the only one who could have done it," Lily suggested.

"I see," I pondered; this was too easy, it was _never _this easy

"I just want it back Al! I'll do anything!" she shouted, banging her fist on my lousy desk. I snuck a glare at her, her face squinted, but the fury stood out among her reddened features.

"You know my usual payment," I said as I stood from my seat, beginning to pace the room in my oversized trench coat. She nodded and sighed before reaching into her pocket, taking out what I desired the most. Chocolate.

"There!"

"Leave," I ordered, taking a piece of the chocolate she left for me, and this was only the starting payment.

I left my office shortly after Lily did, hearing her voice being called in the distance. But I paid no mind to it as I walked towards James' harem, my hands in my pockets. He had recently arrived back for the summer after his studies, studying, well, only he knew that much.

I knocked on his sealed, desolate door, waiting to hear his obnoxious voice which poisons my ear drums.

"Password," I heard him whisper.

I looked around, making sure that no one else was listening, he'd kill me if anyone was. "Dungbombs."

The door opened, revealing James' smelly little corner of the universe. I pinched my nose as I entered as he scurried to one of his chairs and sat down.

"What do you want, Al?" he asked, his eyebrow lifted.

"I have reason to believe that you took something that doesn't belong to you," I began, as I started to pace in front of his chair. Noticeably he gulped as he began to fidget, his eyes staring at a lone glass of milk in front of him. Whatever he had done to that milk, whatever silly prank he planned to play with it didn't matter now. It was only milk.

"Really? What?" he asked, her heart beat thundering.

"Lily's most prized possession," I informed, waiting for him to give it up. My eyes darted around the room, searching for any signs of it. But there were none.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said, crossing his arms.

"You know!" I accused, storming towards him and gripping his collar. "Tell me!"

"It wasn't me! Maybe Mum took it, I don't know!" he yelled, pushing me away from him, and I knew that James was a lost cause, even if he did take it.

So I left his presence in a huff. Lily must have been wrong, and I hoped she was. James got me nowhere, but I had to follow his lead, it was the only one I had.

In accordance with his lead, I walked towards where Mum usually lurked about, doing whatever Mum's did when they didn't tend to their careers. She was off today as there was no match scheduled for her Quidditch team, which only favored my cause.

She was humming to herself as it seemed she was preparing dinner, a thing she didn't do very often. Normally, we'd order out, but it was a special day when she'd cook.

I approached her and cleared my throat in order to garner her attention.

She turned around and smiled at me, the sweet smell of her perfume wafting around, "Hello, Al! What are you up to?"

"It's seems as though Lily's most prized possession has gone missing. Do you know anything about this?" I asked my mother, accusing her of the dirtiest of crimes.

"Oh, I see what's going on here," she said, a sparkle in her eye. "Nope, I'm afraid not Al."

"This is a mystery if I've ever heard one!" I said in frustration, throwing my arms down against my sides.

"Talking to yourself again, eh, Al," she teased, laughing at me.

"Shuddap," I muttered as I started to quickly run out of the room.

My attempts were fruitless. There was no one else and all my leads were wasted. This case was the death of me; it was more difficult than the time I had to find out who took the last cookie from the cookie jar at Aunt Hermione's, and it had been Uncle Ron. Who else would have done such a dirty crime?

Now was the time I had to throw in the towel and resign my position. I had failed her, my own sister, my own blood! Regretfully, I stomped towards Lily's bedroom, where no doubt she would be, waiting for my results, and waiting for me to drag the culprit in along with the possession she desired the most. This time though, there was no culprit or prize reclaimed.

But as I entered her pink bedroom, which clashed dreadfully with her hair, I saw it, its eyes glowering through mine. Was this a joke? For there it was, on Lily's side table, where it was meant to be.

I groaned in disrepair as I stormed inside and seized the doll, Lily's foot-sized doll that looked exactly like her and could speak on its own will, the tool to be Lily's best friend, a toy that Dad had purchased for her.

The doll laughed as I held it, my grip growing tighter each second.

"You're a fool!" the doll teased.

"What do you mean?" I yelled, shaking it in my arms.

The doll simply continued to laugh in its annoying high-pitched tone. "You'll never know!"

I groaned and threw the doll against the wall, hearing a resounding 'Ow!' as I ran back to my office, the one place I knew I'd be safe.

And as the rest of this case, I was wrong.

The flaming red hair bobbed in the corner, and I heard a mischievous laugh emanating from her lips. I glared at her from the doorway, my eyes poisonous as she turned around. A brown stain surrounded her mouth, and no doubt it smelled delicious.

Her eyes widened in fright as she shrieked. Changing tactics, she barreled forward, but I grabbed her around her waist before she had the chance to escape. I tackled her to the ground, feeling her grow slump in defeat. I sat on her thin legs and kept her pinned to the ground.

"You were very stupid, Lily, the doll was right in your room," I told her, pushing her harder against the ground.

"Nuh-uh," she sassed, and I knew how desperately she wanted to put her hands on her hips.

"What was this? Your idea of fun?" I questioned.

"Now that you got me, I suppose I have no other choice," she squeaked. "I took you chocolate."

"How? Why?" I asked, and gave her a pinch on the inside of her knee, pushing her across the edge.

"I gave you the case to give you a distraction, knowing you'd go to James' room first. I'm not dumb like you say. But when you sent me out of your room, Mummy called me, wanting to talk," Lily grumbled, and I knew that there was a pout on her silly, little face. "When I was leaving Mummy's room, I heard you coming, so I came here, and took your candy."

"You're devious!" I accused.

"I wanted chocolate, and Daddy told me to! He wanted some too!" Lily continued.

"Dad's behind this! I should have known!" I claimed as I stood up and pulled little Lily up with me.

"Yup," she said and giggled as her little legs began to scamper away, small pieces of chocolate falling out of her pockets.

All of it had been a dirty trap, designed by my own father, against me. My chocolate never would have survived against it and its rotten core.

These cases never turned out fairly, and they always diminished me in some way. Every time I solved a case I wanted to quit, but I knew that I never could.

And then suddenly I heard, "JAMES, AL, LILY! DINNER! DAD'S HOME AND HE WANTS TO KNOW WHERE HIS TRENCH COAT IS….ALBUS!"

My face reddened and my heart beat grew faster as I shrugged of Dad's trench coat and hid it in my dresser.

He'd never find it.

* * *

**A/N: This story was for the Quidditch League Competition, using the prompts, perfume, milk and trap.**


End file.
